In Vitro and In Vivo Pharmacological Characterization of a Novel TRPM8 Inhibitor Chemotype Identified by Small-Scale Preclinical Screening

oleh: Nunzio Iraci, Carmine Ostacolo, Alicia Medina-Peris, Tania Ciaglia, Anton M. Novoselov, Andrea Altieri, David Cabañero, Asia Fernandez-Carvajal, Pietro Campiglia, Isabel Gomez-Monterrey, Alessia Bertamino, Alexander V. Kurkin

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-02-01

Deskripsi

Transient receptor potential melastatin type 8 (TRPM8) is a target for the treatment of different physio-pathological processes. While TRPM8 antagonists are reported as potential drugs for pain, cancer, and inflammation, to date only a limited number of chemotypes have been investigated and thus a limited number of compounds have reached clinical trials. Hence there is high value in searching for new TRPM8 antagonistic to broaden clues to structure-activity relationships, improve pharmacological properties and explore underlying molecular mechanisms. To address this, the EDASA Scientific in-house molecular library has been screened in silico, leading to identifying twenty-one potentially antagonist compounds of TRPM8. Calcium fluorometric assays were used to validate the in-silico hypothesis and assess compound selectivity. Four compounds were identified as selective TRPM8 antagonists, of which two were dual-acting TRPM8/TRPV1 modulators. The most potent TRPM8 antagonists (<b>BB 0322703</b> and <b>BB 0322720</b>) underwent molecular modelling studies to highlight key structural features responsible for drug–protein interaction. The two compounds were also investigated by patch-clamp assays, confirming low micromolar potencies. The most potent compound (<b>BB 0322703</b>, IC<sub>50</sub> 1.25 ± 0.26 μM) was then profiled in vivo in a cold allodinya model, showing pharmacological efficacy at 30 μM dose. The new chemotypes identified showed remarkable pharmacological properties paving the way to further investigations for drug discovery and pharmacological purposes.